Soccer semifinal showdown
Long-time rivals kickoff once again in HCIAA doubleheader
In terms of a Final Four, it doesn’t get any better locally that this weekend’s soccer showdown.
The Hudson County Interscholastic Athletic Association will hold its semifinals Sunday, with a doubleheader slated for Cochrane Stadium in Jersey City, beginning at 5 p.m.
In terms of rivalries, the HCIAA couldn’t have asked for better pairings, with long-time Jersey City rivals Hudson Catholic and St. Peter’s Prep meeting in the first semifinal at 5 p.m., followed by the Battle of Union City, namely Emerson and Union Hill, squaring off in the second game at 7 p.m.
You couldn’t have scripted a more intriguing doubleheader.
On paper, it would look like regular season champion Hudson Catholic (16-0-2) and runnerup Emerson (14-2) would move on to the championship game. After all, the Hawks and the Bulldogs have clearly been Hudson’s two best teams all year. But stranger things have happened in the playoffs, especially in three of the last four years, when co-champions were declared after two teams played to a tie in the championship game.
Plus, both Hudson Catholic and Emerson won regular season contests against their fiercest rivals, with each team winning by 1-0 scores earlier in the year.
However, both St. Peter’s Prep and Union Hill hit the semifinals in the best shape both teams have been all season. St. Peter’s, which has advanced to the semifinals in all nine years that the HCIAA extended the playoffs to eight teams, has finally regained the services of three players who missed considerable time due to injury.
Midfielder Steve Thorne injured his knee in the second game of the season, but has been able to return lately, wearing a brace. Defender Scott Cunningham suffered a broken collarbone in the first two weeks of the season, but is expected to receive clearance to play this week.
"It’s been a strange year," said St. Peter’s head coach John Irvine. "You can’t account for injuries. But it’s nice to have as close to a full team as we’ve had all year. We’re now getting guys back that we didn’t expect to have back."
It’s also been a strange year for Irvine in that he had to replace two potent scorers in Matthew Foster-Moore and Santiago Formoso, who combined to score 41 goals last year.
"It’s hard to find that kind of scoring, because we still haven’t scored 41 goals as a team this year," Irvine said.
Sophomore forward Drew Buzzio is the Marauders’ leading scorer with 10 goals, followed by senior James Dellavecchia with seven.
The Marauders also had to replace All-State goalkeeper Mike Sylvia, but junior Brett Prime is just reaching his – pardon the pun – prime, posting eight shutouts in net this season.
Hudson Catholic continues to get solid play from John Gonclaves, who scored both of the Hawks’ goals in the quarterfinal win over Dickinson. Gonclaves now has 19 goals on the season.
What makes the Prep-Hudson Catholic showdown even more intriguing is that there is a chance that the two teams can face each other twice in a span of 48 hours.
If St. Peter’s Prep defeats Bergen Catholic in the first round of the NJSIAA Parochial A tournament, then it will face top-seeded Hudson Catholic in the second round. Which would mean the two teams would play a state playoff game on Friday, then the HCIAA semifinal again two days later.
"It’s bizarre," Irvine said. "I don’t know who that will help. It sort of neutralizes both of us and it makes it difficult to put the focus on one game over the other. It makes no difference how many teams we play them, but our kids get psyched up to play Hudson. It really could turn out to be a bizarre situation."
Union Hill started off the season 1-4, but has won eight of its last nine games to advance to the semifinals against the crosstown rival.
"When you play Emerson, you absolutely throw everything out the window," Union Hill head coach Ben Perez said. "The kids have been jelling at the right time and have been really playing well."
Junior forward Alex Martinez has been Union Hill’s leader of late, scoring seven goals in the last eight games. Junior midfielder Andres Villa assisted on the last four Martinez goals.
Perez is also happy with the team’s senior leadership, namely sweeper Daniel Silva, midfielder Henry Rivera, forward Jose Saldivar, defender Alex Llanos and stopper Oscar Saravia. Junior goalkeeper Jose Bautista has also been steady.
"We’ve made some adjustments and that’s really helped us," Perez said. "We’ve also had a lot of contributors, so that has also helped."
"There is the natural rivalry," Emerson head coach Angelo Avella said. "We can never take anything for granted against Union Hill."
Both Union Hill and Emerson also have to worry about state playoff games this week, before the semifinal match. Union Hill will more than likely face state-ranked power Kearny and Emerson faces the winner of the first round matchup between Memorial and Teaneck. Those two could also very well meet again in the Group IV playoffs.
"It’s a fun time of year," Avella said. "And it’s the nature of the beast to be ready to play one game after the next. We feel we’re in the right position now. We’re a little hungry. I think we have a pretty good chance to do well."
That’s what all four competitors believe they have – a chance. That’s what being in the Final Four is all about.